A man bent down in front of me, giving me a a view of his swooshed hair.
The others stood back, barely visible as silhouettes. His honey-gold hair draped over his shoulders like he was some kind of Greek god.
I used to think everything I read in books was fiction — but right in front of me knelt this extraordinarily handsome man with blazing gold eyes that looked like they knew what sat at the bottom of my soul. His nose was so sharp it looked drawn by an artist. His pink full lips were so kissable I already knew he had women lined up for miles. His face smooth as a child's. His long veiny hands reached through the cage bars, caressing my cheek like I was something fragile.
"You don't get to manipulate us this time. You're going to be punished by your daddies." His deep baritone voice soothed my anxiety instead of spiking it — despite everything he just said.
I could feel warmth pooling in my belly so intensely it felt like burning. Control yourself. You don't even know these men. But how was I supposed to control anything when someone was staring into the depth of my soul like that?
"Her eyes are glazed," he said, glancing at the others. "You know what that means."
Sexy chuckles rippled through the group.
I heard the jingle of keys. One of the men moved to the top of the cage — so tall I couldn't make out his face. The cage clicked open.
He reached in, lifted me out in one smooth movement, then closed it again and sat me on top. His eyes were sharp and green, piercing. The top of his head had a spiky fleshy ridge running along it.
He lifted my chin — as if he wasn't already looking right at me.
"I'm really sorry about this, kitten," he said.
I blinked. I thought they were talking about punishment.
His veiny hands moved to my wrists and removed the bonds like they were nothing. He circled my wrists with his fingers, caressing them gently, then bent and kissed my pulse points. His neon green hair ,long, impossibly silky , brushed against my thighs as he did. How could a man's hair be silkier and longer than mine? He dusted the stuck leaves from my clothes, his hand accidentally grazing my side, and I felt a current zing through me so sharp I nearly gasped.
"You know Ramses just wanted to grab a feel," one of the men said.
The group burst into laughter.
"Oh, fuck off — all of you," he replied.
So his name was Ramses. How fitting.
He lifted me in one sudden movement and I was in his arms, catching a glimpse of his green beard as he started running. Then he shifted — and the man became a Minotaur, enormous and bull-horned, his green-scaled body thundering through the forest. His movement was so fast I should have fallen, but somehow I was held firm against his back.
I hated how much I didn't hate it.
The others had transformed too. The gold-haired man was now a dragon soaring directly above me, golden wings catching the sunlight, looking almost angelic against the white sky.
The blue-haired man , the one who'd told me what he'd done with his mouth ran alongside in his human form. The leopard spotted, sleek, lethal — kept pace beside us like it was nothing.
A punishment. A punishment awaited me.
I thought.
The leopard caught my eye as if he knew what I was thinking ,winked.
"Don't worry," he said, somehow speaking mid-run. "We'll make sure you enjoy at least part of it."
I opened my mouth to respond and decided against it.
Within minutes the Minotaur slowed and stopped in front of a mansion. Huge columns. White and gold. The kind of home that made billionaires look modest. The beast beneath me shifted back so fast I barely tracked it — and suddenly Ramses was there again, green-haired and tall, setting me down on my feet.
The others transformed around us. Four men. Four different hair colours — green, gold, blue, streaked brown, They flanked me like bodyguards as we passed through the golden gates.
I suppressed my gasp.
The grounds were stunning — blue frangipani at the far end, its petals scattered like decoration, flanked by trees I had never seen in my life. Pink bark, calabash-like fruits hanging heavy, leaves in shades of green and red that had no business being that vivid.
Two masked guards in samurai dress stood on either side of the gate, gazing into the middle distance.
I knew I was staring at everything glazed-eyed like a child in a candy store and I couldn't stop.